Utah March 2023

I am in the beautiful state of Utah, in the sandstone mountains. Although I am an avid hiker, and love the great outdoors, I normally hike on the East Coast. The East coast has cliffs covered with green space, trees reaching to the skies, and consistent leaves and soil underneath your feet. Like many people, I’ve seen pictures of the cliffs and peaks of the Midwest and the west coast terrain, and those pictures always intimated me. The cliffs seen insurmountable and something that only professional hikers – the ones that hike and camp alone – would ever attempt.

Well here I am, one hiker with a group of close to one hundred women, walking and hiking the areas in and around Red Mountain Resort taking in the amazingly beautiful Utah landscape.

While here I learned some amazing things about the nature of my Heavenly Father, and His expectations of His children. On my first day, I went on a guided tour with a wonderful guy named rich. Rich has spent decades in these mountains and knew them like the back of his hand. He knew the plants, the berries, and even the pitted rock-scapes. He imparted quite a bit of his knowledge to us as we began our hike.  

Rich knew exactly where the hike was headed and where it would end.

However, I did not. 

So I asked him “where are you taking us Rich? Where are we going?” 

Rich looked at me and pointed to some rocky peak high up in the distance. From my perspective, the idea that I could possibly climb to the top of that peak was simply ridiculous. Of course my follow-up question was always the same.

“How Rich? How are we going to get there?” 

Rich’s answered “Trust me, I will get you there.”

In all fairness to Rich, I had no doubts about his experience or his level of expertise. My doubt rested on my level of experience and my inability to see the path in front of me.  I simply could not understand how Rich would take me from my point on the ground the vertical peak.  

So, I asked him again, “How exactly do you plan to get me all the way up there?”

Rich laughed, and repeated “Trust me.”

Honestly Rich’s reassurance did little for me. So I pushed harder, “Show me”.  Rich sighed patiently and began to point out the path to the top.

“Well,” said Rich while pointing, “we will go down that path and then circle through those brushes and then go through that path and then go up that path and then we will pretty much be there”

I looked at him as though he was crazy.  Everywhere he pointed I only saw rock and cliff – no path that went up or down, and no brush.

“What path? I don’t see a path, or brush”

Again, Rich looked at me and responded with extreme patience, “Trust me, it’s there”.

Although I felt apprehensive, deep down I knew my fears were ridiculous.  The resort would never allow Rich to take us out into the wilderness and drop us off some cliff or get lost looking for a path that did not exist. So I trusted him, and we went forward.

Fifteen minutes later, after following Rich, I was standing on my first rock platform.  He pointed out the path we followed, and looking behind me, I could clearly see where I started and how I’d traveled. I must admit, I was somewhat impressed.

 “Now what?” I asked. Rich point to another distant height.

You can laugh now… because I repeated my questions. “Where? … How?… Show me.” Each time Rich responded the same. “Trust me… there’s a path… I will get you there.”

Ten minutes later, I was on an even higher rock cliff, looking at how high I’d traveled. Eventually, my questions were limited to “where” because I understood clearly that I was in safe hands with Rich. Although the territory was unknown to me, I trusted him with each of my footsteps. In some instances, Rich even told me exactly where to step so that I would stay safe, and my hiking shoes would have the best traction and grip.  I stopped looking behind me and kept my eyes on him. I followed his leadership as we ducked through brush, stepped in grime, and climbed over rocks,

About an hour into the hike, Rich pointed out our starting point.  Amazingly enough, I had progressed pretty far vertically and the starting point miles beneath me. Seeing my progress strengthened my faith in Rich and my ability to handle the terrain. About an hour later I was standing on top of a cliff I had previously considered impossible to climb. I was amazed at myself, at my progress, at the accomplishment; and my faith in Rich was strengthened.

You would think that is end of the story, right? No.  The story does not end there.

The next day, I hiked with Rich again.  This time it was a much smaller group (4 versus 10 hikers), and Rich asked what level of hike we wanted to do.  My experience with Rich from the previous day allowed me to confidently tell him, take us somewhere challenging.  Then I turned to the other women and said “Rich is a wonderful guide.  He will take care of us and keep us safe.”  The other women – none of whom were on the former hike – believed me and followed Rich.

Well, the hike for day 2 was ten time more amazing than the Day 1 hike. Rich took us to another area of the park – very few tourists – and we hiked rock faces that made the previous day look like a cake walk.  However, my previous experience with Rich provided a deep-set knowledge that I would be fine, and the hike would be worth it.

The second day hike was scary at times.  We hiked steep narrow trails and climbed ledges that were barely a foot wide.  However, Rich’s confident assurance that we were fine was enough for me to follow him.  There were times when I still questioned “Where?” or “How?”.  When I get nervous, I asked him “Show me?”. However, for the most part, I simply followed. I even got to where I had been the day before. That day taught me so much about myself, and the God I serve.

I realized that I do the exact same thing in life when I can’t see the path God has before me. I question, I refuse to move, I even pout at times because I want to know where He is taking or leading me. If we are His children and we trust Him, why do we need to know where He is taking us?

If I am honest with myself, I know that I need to know where God is leading me so I can make the choice myself. Is it somewhere I want to go? Do I agree with His path, or would I prefer another one? This is not an easy thing for me to admit because it exposes my human heart and its lack of trust in the one I should trust the most.

Just as in my hikes with Rich, there are times when I experience a high level of anxiety regarding my future – I ask myself if God truly loves me and does He have the best in store for me. The world we live in – and the experiences it provides – confirms that trust is often betrayed. Even so, our Heavenly Father is not of this world and is steadfast in all that he does.

Yet the word is clear…

– Cast your burdens on the Lord, and He will sustain you (Psa 55:2)

– Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established (Prov 16:3)

– Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long (Psa 25:5)

– Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding (Prov 3:5)

Christ tells us to “take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” Mat 11:29. A yoke is what is used to guide oxen and keeps them on the right path.

My all-time favorite section of the Word that gives me comfort and eases my anxiety…

“… For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you” declares the Lord… (Jer 29: 11-14)

Our Heavenly Father wants only the best for us in every way. The best is not defined by us, the best is defined by Yahweh. He knows our entire path, the pitfalls, the brush. He sometimes places our feet exactly where they need to be in order to keep us stable and upright. He leads us through paths we can not see or understand.

Keeping our eyes on Him and His promises keeps us safe and guarded.

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Thoughtful prompts

– How can you learn to trust Yahweh more in your everyday life?

– Can you think of a time where you thought you were on your own, but realized later that God was there every step of the way?

– Have you ever taken your own path and found yourself lost or in the wrong space and had to go back to the path God planned (figuratively and literally)?

– What would you tell yourself from a past situation in order to keep them focused on our Heavenly Father?